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1.
J Phys Chem A ; 128(27): 5362-5373, 2024 Jul 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38935631

ABSTRACT

The thermal decomposition of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) under oxidative conditions was investigated using air (O2) and N2O as oxidants over temperatures ranging from 400 to 1000 °C in an α-alumina reactor. In the presence of air, PFOA was found to decompose into perfluorohept-1-ene (C7F14) and perfluoroheptanoyl fluoride (C7F14O) in addition to HF, CO, and CO2. At temperatures above 800 °C, both C7F14 and C7F14O were no longer detected. A comprehensive analysis of the reaction mechanisms through quantum chemical analysis and kinetic modeling in combination with experimental observations was utilized to identify key reaction pathways. Quantum chemical analysis led to the conclusion that oxygen atoms are crucial in decomposing perfluoroalk-1-enes, especially the stable perfluorohept-1-ene (C7F14). Under oxidative conditions, it was found that significant quantities of C2F6 and CF4 were formed. Further quantum chemical analysis suggests that the O atoms facilitate the formation of volatile fluorinated compounds (VFCs) such as tetrafluoromethane (CF4) and hexafluoroethane (C2F6), particularly at higher temperatures. By elucidating these key reactions, an improved understanding of the potential formation products of incomplete combustion (PICs) or products of incomplete destruction (PIDs) is made.

2.
Sci Total Environ ; 932: 172658, 2024 Jul 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38657813

ABSTRACT

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of synthetic chemicals known for their widespread presence and environmental persistence. Carbon-fluorine (C-F) bonds are major components among PFAS and among the strongest organic bonds, thus destroying PFAS may present significant challenge. Thermal treatment such as incineration is an effective and approved method for destroying many halogenated organic chemicals. Here, we present the results of existing studies and testing at combustion-based thermal treatment facilities and summarize what is known regarding PFAS destruction and mineralization at such units. Available results suggest the temperature and residence times reached by some thermal treatment systems are generally favorable to the destruction of PFAS, but the possibility for PFAS or fluorinated organic byproducts to escape destruction and adequate mineralization and be released into the air cannot be ruled out. Few studies have been conducted at full-scale operating facilities, and none to date have attempted to characterize possible fluorinated organic products of incomplete combustion (PICs). Further, the ability of existing air pollution control (APC) systems, designed primarily for particulate and acid gas control, to reduce PFAS air emissions has not been determined. These data gaps remain primarily due to the previous lack of available methods to characterize PFAS destruction and PIC concentrations in facility air emissions. However, newly developed stack testing methods offer an improved understanding of the extent to which thermal waste treatment technologies successfully destroy and mineralize PFAS in these waste streams.

3.
Autism ; 28(4): 1029-1044, 2024 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37606218

ABSTRACT

LAY ABSTRACT: Most research about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in females has looked at autistic features in people who have already received diagnoses. Because our understanding of ASD has been shaped by the difficulties of males, females may experience different difficulties and may not meet the criteria for diagnosis because of a skewed concept of ASD. We extracted detailed information from the assessment reports of 222 children who were either diagnosed with ASD (156 children) or not diagnosed despite many ASD traits (78 children). Females were less likely to have restricted interests, especially females who did not receive an ASD diagnosis. Females who did not receive an ASD diagnosis tended to show more ability in social and emotional reciprocity than what would qualify them for a diagnosis. We also found sex-/gender-specific profiles of body use and speech mannerisms. Many behaviours were more closely linked with an ASD diagnosis for males and others for females, suggesting that behaviours may be interpreted differently depending on the child's sex/gender. We discuss implications for assessing females for ASD in the context of this evidence.


Subject(s)
Autism Spectrum Disorder , Stereotypic Movement Disorder , Male , Child , Humans , Female , Autism Spectrum Disorder/diagnosis , Autism Spectrum Disorder/psychology , Phenotype , Speech
4.
Addiction ; 118(9): 1687-1698, 2023 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37070481

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The inclusion of gaming disorder (GD) in the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11) has generated scholarly debate, including claims about its potential stigmatizing effects on the wider gaming population. The present study aimed to estimate the effect of addiction-based and non-addiction-based conceptualizations of problem gaming on stigma of gamers. DESIGN: This preregistered experiment involved a 2 (health information: addiction-related or non-addiction-related) × 3 (vignette: problem, regular or casual gamer) randomized, between-subjects design. SETTING: An international sample of participants was recruited via Prolific in June and July 2021. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were eligible (n = 1228) if they were aged 35 to 50 years, played video games for no more than 6 hours per week and did not endorse DSM-5 or ICD-11 criteria for GD. INTERVENTION AND COMPARATOR: Participants were provided with an explanation of problem gaming as related to either an addictive disorder (i.e. 'addiction' explanation) or personal choice and lifestyle factors (i.e. 'non-addiction' explanation). MEASUREMENTS: The Attribution Questionnaire (AQ) and Universal Stigma Scale (USS) assessed stigma toward each gamer vignette. Vignettes described a problem gamer (with features of GD); a regular gamer (frequent gaming; some life interference); and a casual gamer (infrequent gaming; no life interference). FINDINGS: Problem gamer vignettes (mean [M] = 113.3; 95% CI = 111.5-115.4) received higher AQ stigma ratings than regular (M = 94.0; 95% CI = 91.9-95.9) and casual gamers (M = 80.1; 95% CI = 78.2-82.1). Although significant, the effect of health information type on AQ stigma ratings was negligible (addiction group [M = 97.6; 95% CI = 95.9-99.1], non-addiction group [M = 94.1; 95% CI = 92.6-95.8]). However, the addiction information group scored lower on USS blame and responsibility than the non-addiction information group with at least a small effect (99.1% confidence). CONCLUSIONS: Framing of problem gaming as an addictive disorder or non-addictive activity appears to have a negligible effect on stigma of different gamers among middle-age adults with minimal gaming experience. The concept of 'gaming addiction' seems unlikely to be an important influence on public stigma of gaming.


Subject(s)
Behavior, Addictive , Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders , Video Games , Adult , Middle Aged , Humans , Judgment , Social Stigma , Internet
5.
Front Psychiatry ; 13: 929657, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36090357

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Associations between awareness of one's own aging and wellbeing have received increasing attention in the field of gerontology over the last decade. The current study examines how between-person differences and within-person fluctuations of awareness of age-related change (AARC) relate to daily negative affect and vitality. Of key interest was the extent to which fluctuations in AARC moderated reactivity to stressor exposure. We predicted that higher positive perceptions of aging (AARC-gains) would buffer the relationship between daily stressors and negative affect/vitality. Conversely, we expected that higher negative perceptions (AARC-losses) may exacerbate the relationship between daily stressors and the outcome variables. Methods: Data were collected from a community-based sample of 152 Australian adults aged 53-86 (M = 69.18, SD = 5.73). For 10 consecutive days, participants completed surveys on their smartphones measuring daily stressors, AARC, and affect (positive and negative). Bayesian hierarchical linear models were used to examine whether AARC-gains and AARC-losses moderated within-person associations of daily stressors and affect (i.e., stress reactivity). Results: At the between-person level, higher AARC-gains was associated with lower negative affect and higher vitality, whereas those reporting higher AARC-losses scored higher on negative affect and lower on vitality. Within-person variables revealed that on days when AARC-gains was higher and AARC-losses was lower, this corresponded with lower negative affect and higher vitality. There was no evidence in support of individual moderating effects of within-person AARC-losses or within-person AARC-gains on stress reactivity. A trend was evident in support of a three-way WP Stress severity × WP AARC-gains × WP AARC-losses interaction in the prediction of negative affect, indicating that on days when AARC-losses was higher, the association of stress severity with negative affect was weaker if AARC-gains was higher. Follow-up analyses modeling quadratic stress severity revealed a trend suggesting an interaction of within-person stress severity and within-person AARC-losses. Discussion: Results indicate that both individual differences and short-term fluctuations in AARC are associated with daily negative affect and vitality. The results provided qualified support for a possible protective role of AARC-gains in the context of stress reactivity.

6.
J Autism Dev Disord ; 52(10): 4474-4489, 2022 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34669104

ABSTRACT

Despite the importance of clinical judgement in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment, little is currently known about challenges faced by diagnosticians when the client is female, any sex/gender biases during the assessment process, and how these issues affect diagnostic outcomes. Forty-seven ASD diagnosticians completed a questionnaire containing two hypothetical case studies (a 'male' and 'female' ASD presentation), with sex/gender randomly assigned within each. Diagnosticians reported greater ASD symptom severity when female sex/gender pseudonyms were allocated to the case studies, but their confidence in ASD diagnosis was similar regardless of condition. Diagnosticians identified a large number of challenges associated with assessing females for ASD. Many of these related to sex/gender differences in ASD presentation and limitations of diagnostic instruments.


Subject(s)
Autism Spectrum Disorder , Autism Spectrum Disorder/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Sex Factors , Sexism , Surveys and Questionnaires
7.
J Autism Dev Disord ; 52(9): 3958-3976, 2022 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34533659

ABSTRACT

Growing evidence suggests that autistic females are more likely to be diagnostically overlooked than males, perhaps due to differences in ASD presentations (van Wijngaarden-Cremers in JAMA 44:627-635, 2014). To investigate specific behaviours in which differences lie, we analysed profiles of 777 children using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (Scholper in JAMA 29:489-493, 2010) or Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (Gilliam, 2014). Males demonstrated greater difficulty in six CARS2-ST items and seven behaviours on the GARS-3, mostly reflecting restricted and repetitive behaviours. Across all instruments, the only area in which females showed greater difficulty was fear or nervousness (CARS2-ST). No meaningful differences emerged from the CARS2-HF analysis. Where males showed greater difficulty, females were more likely to present with developmentally typical behaviour.


Subject(s)
Autism Spectrum Disorder , Autistic Disorder , Autism Spectrum Disorder/diagnosis , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Sex Characteristics , Sex Factors
8.
Sleep ; 44(9)2021 09 13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33893807

ABSTRACT

The high prevalence of chronic sleep restriction in adolescents underscores the importance of understanding how adolescent sleep is regulated under such conditions. One component of sleep regulation is a homeostatic process: if sleep is restricted, then sleep intensity increases. Our knowledge of this process is primarily informed by total sleep deprivation studies and has been incorporated in mathematical models of human sleep regulation. Several animal studies, however, suggest that adaptation occurs in chronic sleep restriction conditions, showing an attenuated or even decreased homeostatic response. We investigated the homeostatic response of adolescents to different sleep opportunities. Thirty-four participants were allocated to one of three groups with 5, 7.5, or 10 h of sleep opportunity per night for five nights. Each group underwent a protocol of nine nights designed to mimic a school week between two weekends: two baseline nights (10 h sleep opportunity), five condition nights (5, 7.5, or 10 h), and two recovery nights (10 h). Measures of sleep homeostasis (slow-wave activity and slow-wave energy) were calculated from frontal and central EEG derivations and compared to predictions derived from simulations of the homeostatic process of the two-process model of sleep regulation. Only minor differences were found between empirical data and model predictions, indicating that sleep homeostasis is preserved under chronic sleep restriction in adolescents. These findings improve our understanding of effects of repetitive short sleep in adolescents.


Subject(s)
Sleep Deprivation , Sleep , Adaptation, Physiological , Adolescent , Electroencephalography , Homeostasis , Humans , Polysomnography
9.
J Anxiety Disord ; 76: 102324, 2020 12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33137600

ABSTRACT

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Behavioural Activation Therapy (BA) were used to treat individuals with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Fifty-two individuals (48 women, 4 men) were randomized to CPT alone (n = 18), CPT then BA for MDD (n = 17), or BA then CPT (n = 17). Presenting trauma was primarily interpersonal (87 %). Participants were assessed at pre-, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up. PTSD and MDD symptoms were the main outcome of interest; trauma cognitions, rumination, and emotional numbing were secondary outcomes. All groups showed sizeable reductions in PTSD and depression (effect sizes at follow-up ranging between 1.02-2.54). A pattern of findings indicated CPT/BA showed better outcomes in terms of larger effect sizes and loss of diagnoses relative to CPT alone and BA/CPT. At follow-up greater numbers of the CPT/BA group were estimated to have achieved good end-state for remission of both PTSD and depression (49 %, CI95 [.26, .73]) relative to CPT alone (18 %, CI95 [.03, .38]) and BA/CPT (11 %, CI95 [.01, .29]). Although tempered by the modest sample size, the findings suggest that individuals with comorbid PTSD and MDD may benefit from having PTSD targeted first before remaining MDD symptoms are addressed.


Subject(s)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy , Depressive Disorder, Major , Psychotherapy, Group , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic , Behavior Therapy , Comorbidity , Depressive Disorder, Major/epidemiology , Depressive Disorder, Major/therapy , Female , Humans , Male , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/epidemiology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy
10.
Environ Sci Process Impacts ; 22(10): 2084-2094, 2020 Oct 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32909592

ABSTRACT

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is a widely used pesticide; however, limited experimental work has been completed on its thermal decomposition. CPF is known to decompose into 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCpyol) together with ethylene and HOPOS. Under oxidative conditions TCpyol can decompose into the dioxin-like 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-[1,4]-dioxinodipyridine (TCDDPy). With CPF on the cusp of being banned in several jurisdictions worldwide, the question might arise as to how to safely eliminate large stockpiles of this pesticide. Thermal methods such as incineration or thermal desorption of pesticide-contaminated soils are often employed. To assess the safety of thermal methods, information about the toxicants arising from thermal treatment is essential. The present flow reactor study reports the products detected under inert and oxidative conditions from the decomposition of CPF representative of thermal treatments and of wildfires in CPF-contaminated vegetation. Ethylene and TCpyol are the initial products formed at temperatures between 550 and 650 °C, although the detection of HOPOS as a reaction product has proven to be elusive. During pyrolysis of CPF in an inert gas, the dominant sulfur-containing product detected from CPF is carbon disulfide. Quantum chemical analysis reveals that ethylene and HOPOS undergo a facile reaction to form thiirane (c-C2H4S) which subsequently undergoes ring opening reactions to form precursors of CS2. At elevated temperatures (>650 °C), TCpyol undergoes both decarbonylation and dehydroxylation reactions together with decomposition of its primary product, TCpyol. A substantial number of toxicants is observed, including HCN and several nitriles, including cyanogen. No CS2 is observed under oxidative conditions - sulfur dioxide is the fate of S in oxidation of CPF, and quantum chemical studies show that SO2 formation is initiated by the reaction between HOPOS and O2. The range of toxicants produced in thermal decomposition of CPF is summarised.


Subject(s)
Chlorpyrifos , Dioxins , Insecticides , Pesticides , Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins , Oxidative Stress
11.
Am Psychol ; 75(1): 76-91, 2020 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30998024

ABSTRACT

Problems associated with eyewitness identification decisions have long been highlighted by memory researchers (e.g., Loftus, 1979), with overwhelming evidence that witnesses can err, sometimes with disastrous consequences. Guided by the rationale that witnesses have access to potentially probative memorial information not captured by the traditional categorical lineup responses, an alternative procedure was examined in 6 experiments with adult (N = 1,669) and child (N = 273) witnesses. Instead of witnesses being asked to identify the offender from the lineup, they rated their confidence in the match between the offender and each lineup member and then variations in the maximum (max) confidence values assigned (i.e., the highest rated lineup members) were examined. Specifically, we evaluated how well max confidence values predicted suspect guilt or innocence. When suspects (guilty or innocent) in a lineup received the max confidence rating, the probability of guilt increased with the max. When the suspect received a rating lower than the max, they were generally more likely to be innocent. Max confidence patterns also predicted guilt where a traditional positive identification would have been unlikely: for example, when the max was low, when the witness gave the max to multiple lineup members, or when a filler received the max but the suspect also received a high rating. The data indicate that witnesses have access to probative memorial information often not captured by the traditional lineup responses when identifying someone or rejecting the lineup. Guidelines for the use and interpretation of this theoretically informed futuristic alternative to existing lineup procedures are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).


Subject(s)
Crime , Criminal Law , Mental Recall , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Police , Young Adult
12.
Sleep Med Rev ; 41: 185-196, 2018 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29934128

ABSTRACT

Risk-taking is associated with increased morbidity and mortality among adolescents, with insufficient sleep a potential factor contributing to heightened risk-taking propensity in this age group. A systematic review of the evidence examining the relationship between sleep duration and risk-taking in adolescents was conducted using PsycINFO, PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and CINAHL databases. These searches identified 26 studies including 579,380 participants, 24 of which were appropriate for meta-analysis. Pooled results indicated that insufficient sleep was associated with 1.43 [1.26, 1.62] times greater odds of risk-taking. This relationship was witnessed across diverse categories of risk-taking, including alcohol use, drug use, smoking, violent/delinquent behaviour, transport risk-taking/road safety, sexual risk-taking and trait risk-taking. Risk of bias analysis showed that the quality of the included studies was mixed. Further, few studies utilized either longitudinal or experimental designs, thus limiting causal conclusions. These findings highlight the importance of further research to examine the causal relationship between sleep duration and risk-taking and to elucidate the mechanisms that underpin this relationship.


Subject(s)
Decision Making , Risk-Taking , Sleep Deprivation/complications , Sleep/physiology , Adolescent , Adolescent Behavior/psychology , Humans
13.
Sleep ; 41(4)2018 04 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29325109

ABSTRACT

Study Objectives: This study will (1) estimate the nightly sleep need of human adolescents, (2) determine the time course and severity of sleep-related deficits when sleep is reduced below this optimal quantity, and (3) determine whether sleep restriction perturbs the circadian system as well as the sleep homeostat. Methods: Thirty-four adolescents aged 15 to 17 years spent 10 days and nine nights in the sleep laboratory. Between two baseline nights and two recovery nights with 10 hours' time in bed (TIB) per night, participants experienced either severe sleep restriction (5-hour TIB), moderate sleep restriction (7.5-hour TIB), or no sleep restriction (10-hour TIB) for five nights. A 10-minute psychomotor vigilance task (PVT; lapse = response after 500 ms) and the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale were administered every 3 hours during wake. Salivary dim-light melatonin onset was calculated at baseline and after four nights of each sleep dose to estimate circadian phase. Results: Dose-dependent deficits to sleep duration, circadian phase timing, lapses of attention, and subjective sleepiness occurred. Less TIB resulted in less sleep, more lapses of attention, greater subjective sleepiness, and larger circadian phase delays. Sleep need estimated from 10-hour TIB sleep opportunities was approximately 9 hours, while modeling PVT lapse data suggested that 9.35 hours of sleep is needed to maintain optimal sustained attention performance. Conclusions: Sleep restriction perturbs homeostatic and circadian systems, leading to dose-dependent deficits to sustained attention and sleepiness. Adolescents require more sleep for optimal functioning than typically obtained.


Subject(s)
Homeostasis , Sleep Deprivation/physiopathology , Sleep/physiology , Sleepiness , Adolescent , Attention/physiology , Circadian Rhythm/physiology , Female , Humans , Male , Melatonin/metabolism
14.
Memory ; 25(3): 317-325, 2017 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27050770

ABSTRACT

Studies of the memory-control framework have contrasted free-report and forced-report recall, with little regard to the order of these two tests. The present experiment sought to demonstrate that test order is crucial, and that this suggests a potential role for metacognitive monitoring on memory retrieval. Participants undertook tests of episodic and semantic memory in both free- and forced-report format, in one of the two potential response orders. This showed that free-report performance was more accurate if conducted prior to forced-report, rather than after it, with no cost to memory quantity. Additionally, there was a trend towards higher forced-report performance if it was preceded by an initial free-report test, a pattern revealed by a meta-analysis to be consistent with previous studies in the literature. These findings suggest a reciprocal relationship between metacognitive monitoring and early retrieval processes in memory that results in higher memory performance when monitoring is encouraged.


Subject(s)
Memory/physiology , Metacognition/physiology , Adolescent , Female , Humans , Male , Mental Recall/physiology , Neuropsychological Tests , Young Adult
15.
Psychol Trauma ; 9(4): 471-478, 2017 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27669162

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The 1-year outcome and moderators of adjustment for children and youth receiving treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following single-incident trauma was examined. METHOD: Children and youth who had experienced single-incident trauma (N = 33; 7-17 years old) were randomly assigned to receive 9 weeks of either trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) or trauma-focused cognitive therapy (without exposure; CT) that was administered to them and their parents individually. RESULTS: Intent-to-treat analyses demonstrated that both groups maintained posttreatment gains in PTSD, depression and general anxiety symptoms reductions at 1-year follow-up, with no children meeting criteria for PTSD. A large proportion of children showed good end-state functioning at follow-up (CBT: 65%; CT: 71%). Contrary to 6-month outcomes, maternal adjustment no longer moderated children's outcome, nor did any other tested variables. CONCLUSION: The findings confirm the positive longer-term outcomes of using trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral methods for PTSD secondary to single-incident trauma and that these outcomes are not dependent on the use of exposure. (PsycINFO Database Record


Subject(s)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy , Adolescent , Analysis of Variance , Child , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/methods , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Regression Analysis , Severity of Illness Index , Treatment Outcome
16.
Law Hum Behav ; 40(2): 147-58, 2016 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26595704

ABSTRACT

When making a memorial judgment, respondents can regulate their accuracy by adjusting the precision, or grain size, of their responses. In many circumstances, coarse-grained responses are less informative, but more likely to be accurate, than fine-grained responses. This study describes a novel eyewitness identification procedure, the grain-size lineup, in which participants eliminated any number of individuals from the lineup, creating a choice set of variable size. A decision was considered to be fine-grained if no more than 1 individual was left in the choice set or coarse-grained if more than 1 individual was left in the choice set. Participants (N = 384) watched 2 high-quality or low-quality videotaped mock crimes and then completed 4 standard simultaneous lineups or 4 grain-size lineups (2 target-present and 2 target-absent). There was some evidence of strategic regulation of grain size, as the most difficult lineup was associated with a greater proportion of coarse-grained responses than the other lineups. However, the grain-size lineup did not outperform the standard simultaneous lineup. Fine-grained suspect identifications were no more diagnostic than suspect identifications from standard lineups, whereas coarse-grained suspect identifications carried little probative value. Participants were generally reluctant to provide coarse-grained responses, which may have hampered the utility of the procedure. For a grain-size approach to be useful, participants may need to be trained or instructed to use the coarse-grained option effectively.


Subject(s)
Mental Recall , Recognition, Psychology , Videotape Recording , Criminals , Female , Humans , Male , Young Adult
17.
Autism ; 20(1): 75-84, 2016 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25717130

ABSTRACT

In the absence of intellectual impairment, girls are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder significantly less and later than boys. This study explored potential reasons for why autism spectrum disorder may be more difficult to identify in girls, based on carer concerns during the pre-diagnosis period. Carers of 92 boys and 60 girls diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder from school age completed an online survey addressing concerns regarding the child's development during the pre-school years (pre-diagnosis). Significant sex differences were evident in key early concerns, as well as the strategies used to navigate pre-school social situations, and the types of restricted interests. Findings suggest, from carer perspective, that girls who went on to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder presented differently when compared to boys, providing insight into why the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder may be more difficult to make with cognitively able girls.


Subject(s)
Autism Spectrum Disorder/diagnosis , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Sex Factors
18.
Psychol Assess ; 26(4): 1388-93, 2014 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-25528165

ABSTRACT

Despite the importance of theory of mind (ToM) for typical development, there remain 2 key issues affecting our ability to draw robust conclusions. One is the continued focus on false belief as the sole measure of ToM. The second is the lack of empirically validated measures of ToM as a broad construct. Our key aim was to examine the validity and reliability of the 5-item ToM scale (Peterson, Wellman, & Liu, 2005). In particular, we extended on previous research of this scale by assessing its scalability and validity for use with children from 2 years of age. Sixty-eight typically developing children (aged 24 to 61 months) were assessed on the scale's 5 tasks, along with a sixth Sally-Anne false-belief task. Our data replicated the scalability of the 5 tasks for a Rasch-but not Guttman-scale. Guttman analysis showed that a 4-item scale may be more suitable for this age range. Further, the tasks showed good internal consistency and validity for use with children as young as 2 years of age. Overall, the measure provides a valid and reliable tool for the assessment of ToM, and in particular, the longitudinal assessment of this ability as a construct.


Subject(s)
Child Development , Surveys and Questionnaires/standards , Theory of Mind , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of Results
19.
J Abnorm Child Psychol ; 42(8): 1381-93, 2014 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24882502

ABSTRACT

In the absence of intellectual impairment autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed both less and later in females. This study used clinician and teacher report to explore sex differences in the behavioural presentation of 69 girls and 69 boys all diagnosed with high-functioning ASD. Evidence from DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 are presented. Sex differences in teacher concerns were also explored. While no sex differences were found in the broad social criteria presented in the DSM-IV-TR or DSM-5, numerous differences were evident in how boys and girls came to meet each criterion. For example, girls were more likely to show an ability to integrate non-verbal and verbal behaviours, maintain a reciprocal conversation, and be able to initiate, but not maintain friendships. Moreover, girls presented with both less and different restricted interests. Teachers also reported substantially fewer concerns for girls than boys, including for externalising behaviours and social skills. Results suggest girls with ASD may present with a surface-level 'look' different from the 'classic' presentation of ASD, and present as less impaired when in a school setting. Consequently, results provide insight in to why the disorder may be more difficult to detect in cognitively-able girls.


Subject(s)
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/diagnosis , Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Child , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/physiopathology , Female , Humans , Male , Sex Factors
20.
Br J Clin Psychol ; 53(2): 170-93, 2014 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24921070

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) refers to the impaired retrieval of specific events from autobiographical memory. This review examined OGM in children and adolescents to answer three main questions. First, do children demonstrate OGM? Second, how does the experience of OGM relate to childhood trauma and associated psychopathology? Third, is the CaR-FA-X model (Williams et al., 2007) able to explain OGM in child psychopathology once developmental issues have been considered? METHOD: Articles were identified in PsycINFO and PubMed searches using the terms overgeneral memory AND children, autobiographical memory specificity AND children, and autobiographical memory AND children. The authors reviewed 21 articles that examined OGM in young people aged 7­18 years. Effect sizes were calculated for each study. RESULTS: The review demonstrated consistent support for a relationship with trauma exposure and depression symptoms in childhood. Furthermore, OGM was found to predict depression symptoms. Limited support was provided for the efficacy of the CaR-FA-X model in young people. CONCLUSIONS: Future research will need to examine the influence of trauma characteristics on OGM development, along with the relationship of OGM to depression prognosis. Further investigation of the CaR-FA-X model is required and developmental aspects will need to be taken into account.


Subject(s)
Memory, Episodic , Adolescent , Child , Depression/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Male , Prognosis , Psychopathology , PubMed
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